JEANLOUP SIEFF

Jeanloup Sieff’s often wide-angle photographs of nude women are on the main in black and white. They also often possess a chiaroscuro enhanced grainy finish draws the viewer into both the image and the soul of the subject. Sieff was continually trying out novel ways of shooting women's fashion that did not depict the models as mere living mannequins upon which the clothing hung, but as dynamic human beings that had rich inner lives. Sieff was able to develop a new style of fashion photography that has had a lasting effect on the discipline even though he worked in a time of innovation, rapid development of new equipment and of other new styles and schools of thought.
Sieff photographed the model Maria Solar in the 60s. Their collaboration was a very fruitful one as almost all the photographs in this series are well known in the world of photography. The particular charm of this photograph is that it captures an intimacy revealing that it is more than a mere nude pose. The look in Maria's eyes portray not the indifference of a model but the warmth of a beloved caught in a private moment. This prompts the viewer contemplate not only on Maria's pose but also on the space she is in and what resides in that space as well as on Maria's body and what resides in that body.

© Cigdem Mirol